India reports spike in seasonal flu, Delhi leads the list with 3,141 cases

New Delhi: As many as 20,414 people were infected with swine flue, and 347 died of the viral disease in India as of December 2024, government data showed. The infection continues to rise, with the national capital registering 3,141 cases.

Other states that are reporting a spike in the seasonal influenza A (H1N1) virus that can infect humans, birds, and pigs are Kerala with 2,846 cases, Maharashtra 2,027 cases, Gujarat 1,711 cases, Tamil Nadu 1,777 cases and Rajasthan 1,149 cases.

Doctors say that there is an exponential rise in the number of patients complaining of influenza-like illness (ILI), with most of them having symptoms such as viral fever, cough and cold.

The data on cases and deaths from influenza A are based on reports received from states/Union Territories to Central Surveillance Unit, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi.

Influenza is an annual seasonal occurrence and a variety of weather conditions and behavioural patterns make the environment conducive to circulation of a number of viral respiratory pathogens like influenza A (H1N1, H3N2) and adenoviruses etc.

“The government is keeping a close watch on the rising influenza cases and monitoring the trend through its integrated Disease Surveillance Programme,” said an official familiar with the matter.

States that have reported the largest number of deaths include Maharashtra (71), Kerala (61), Gujarat (55), Chhattisgarh (43), Punjab (48) and Haryana (26).

India usually sees a seasonal rise in influenza cases from January to March, and again from August to October. Currently, the most prominent subtypes of Influenza in circulation in the country seem to be Influenza A (H1N1) and its subtype H3N2.

Dr Vikas Maurya, head of respiratory department at Fortis Hospital, said that there is a surge of influenza cases for the last one month. “A lot of patients have been coming in the OPD with influenza-like Illnesses having viral fever with respiratory distress. Some of them are getting admitted, however, no one is requiring ventilation support.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are around a billion cases of seasonal influenza annually, including 3–5 million cases of severe illness. It causes 290,000-650,000 respiratory deaths annually.